UPDATE: Sterne Agee Upgrades Center Bancorp to Buy with $12 Target

Sterne Agee raises its rating on Center Bancorp

to Buy from Neutral and raises its price target to $12 following a strong earnings report and the Saddle River acquisition. Sterne Agee notes, "Following a strong earnings report and a solid acquisition, we are upgrading Center Bancorp, Inc. to Buy from Neutral. On a standalone basis, the company is expected to grow loans at a mid to upper single-digit pace, continue to reduce NPAs and hold expenses tight. As a result, profitability as measured by ROA is expected to move above the 1% level in 2012. Our $12 price target equals 11x our revised 2012 estimate and 1.7x our year-end 2012 tangible book value (

) estimate." CNBC closed at $9.93 a share on Thursday.